Sometimes we get stuck. We just hit a wall and need something to break us out. In those cases, I love to use randomization and generative music techniques. I like to think of it as using the machine as a collaborator.
I took a section of my Fast Songwriting course on Generative Music and posted it for free below. I wanted to share some of the ideas I use to speed up my production and come up with ideas.
Here is the introduction video:
What is Generative Music?
Generative music describes music that is ever-different and changing, and that is created by a system. In other words, it is using a machine with set parameters to generate new music instead of writing it from scratch. With Ableton Live I generally look at using randomization with MIDI and devices to generate new musical ideas.
How do you use Generative Music?
If you had something spit out nothing but random information, then it would not be that useful. You need to be able to control the chaos to make it useful. I like looking at it in terms of these three things;
Here is a video walkthrough of setting this up in Ableton Live and how I make generative music using MIDI Effects:
Download the Live Set Below:
More Techniques:
If you are interested in learning more techniques on generative music and speeding up your music production, then check out my Fast Songwriting course. The online course has streaming video’s, downloadable Live Packs, resources, and more.
